Preparing Nurses to Care for People with Developmental Disabilities Perspectives on Integrating Developmental Disabilities Concepts and Experiences into Nursing Education

The argument that nursing curricula have not adequately prepared graduates to provide appropriate care for individuals with intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities (DDs) has been put forward for a decade or more. This is of concern because the number of individuals with DDs has been increasing at a rapid rate. Undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula should address concepts of care for DDs across the lifespan and develop strategies to provide students with clinically relevant experiences to support development of competencies for care of this population. Exemplar strategies from the literature are described along with recommendations for further work.